News of Note

A quick roundup of this week’s animal news — with a request that you call the governor.

First, the grim: Cinder the bear, who was rescued as a badly burned cub in eastern Washington several years ago, was treated successfully by the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center and released successfully by Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation. They found her in her den outside Leavenworth a couple years later, well fed and doing well. and found to be doing well when her radio collar was replaced in a den outside Leavenworth a couple years after her release. But this week, her skeleton was found: She was killed by a hunter last fall. It’s heartbreaking. As one commenter on the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Facebook page put it, “She had a rough life.” As one of the rescuers said, wild animals including bears would prefer five days of freedom to a lifetime in captivity — so at least she had a couple good years. I’m trying to hold onto the latter thought. It’s more than some animals enjoy.

Now for the more hopeful: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is asking for $1.1 billion and a three-year ban on orca watching in an effort to save the southern resident orcas — the orcas who frequent Puget Sound. Please spread the word that whale watching is harmful. As Gov. Inslee called the temporary ban “a relatively small inconvenience to give them a break. … Someone who is starving should not be scrambling for that last morsel that can keep them alive.”

Here’s Gov. Inslee’s number: 360-902-4111. Please call to thank him and ask that he take measures to help Washington’s wolves, too. One of the easiest/cheapest: Inslee must transfer management of wolves from the game managers at the Department of Fish and Wildlife to the nongame division, where they will be managed as endangered species.

Also along orca lines, Lynda Mapes at The Seattle Times just published a great story on the stealing of orcas in the 1970s from Puget Sound. Even if you don’t have time to read it, check out the top/featured photo of Lolita/Tokitae’s eye through the net the day she was taken from Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove.

Finally, more good news: Amazon said it will stop selling illegal foie gras in California. That means they were selling it before. And a lawsuit pushed them to this. But at least they’re stopping.

With little fanfare, a notice appeared on the Indian Directorate of Foreign Trade’s website on July 3rd, simply stating that the import of foie gras, the “fatty liver” of geese, is now prohibited. Produced mainly in France, in recent years it had found a place in high-end Indian restaurants. AND…contrary to so much legislation here in the US that only takes effect in 300 years, this takes effect IMMEDIATELY.

It follows a campaign launched by the activist group Animal Equality, that together with PETA India, also managed to have the extremely cruel bullock cart races and all bull events banned throughout India in May of this year.

Their report to the Indian government included an investigation of a Spanish farm that was supplying liver to Indian restaurants. The Spanish investigation was one of seven shocking foie gras investigations carried out by the group in 2012-2013 in France and Spain.

While countries such as Israel, Germany and England have banned the production of foie gras, and the U.S. state of California banned its production and consumption in 2012, India is the only country to ban imports.

In 2013 India also banned shows involving any cetaceans throughout the country.

Israel, once the third-largest producer of the cruel delicacy known as foie gras, is now to ban all trade and sales.

This month a preliminary hearing of the new legislation passed the Knesset by a wide margin (59-10). Dov Lipman, the conservative rabbi and new member of parliament who sponsored it, said, “I am proud to be a member in a Knesset that chose to place values before interests and fleeting pleasures. As a public official I have many responsibilities, one of them being to care for the rights of animals that depend entirely on us and can’t care for themselves. I believe that this law will contribute not only to animals but also to Israel’s global image. The time has come to get this soul-corrupting food out of Israel.”

On Friday, August 7, The Northwest Animal Rights Network held a special edition of its continual campaign against the extreme cruelty of foie gras by flexing their ability with street theater. Chef Scott Staples was a particular target due to his stubborn stance in supporting animal cruelty despite our efforts on educating him on the egregious conditions that ducks are forced to undergo for a particular delicacy sought out by “foodies.” This Friday involved us staging our action at a sympathetic business, Healeo, a new place on Madison Ave that features conscientious food such as their popular vegan soft-serve ice cream. They were supportive of our prepping of signs, costumes, and more, in the midst of their space, and for that, we give them props.

After the preparations, we were ready to head out, with the flock of ducks that suffered under the cruelty that was imposed by a Scott Staples look-alike, brandishing a knife and an attitude that animals were his to use as he saw fit.

Just to show who’s boss, Chef Scott Staples look-alike menaced the tortured ducks:

After arriving to Quinn’s, the area where they offer the diseased engorged liver of ducks, we staged a die-in, showing the public the the callous attitude towards animals that Quinn’s exhibits with a graphic reminder that the animals were once sentient beings that underwent horrible treatment before they ended up on the plates that garnered gourmet prices.

Thankfully, there are conscientious souls who recognize the cruelty that ducks go through to undergo the rarefied dish called “foie gras” and held a vigil for the souls that were sacrificed for it:

Granted, the scene was not pretty on the outside, but neither is the scene hidden from public view, the scene where ducks were made to undergo horrible cruelty in the name of gourmand tastebuds. One has to wonder whether the horror that the animals go through is really worth the momentary pleasure the flesh provides when it passes by the lips in mere seconds. People passing by were shocked at the scene, and shocked even more upon learning that area restaurants such as Quinn’s were supporting the kind of cruelty that people had thought had been extinguished in today’s modern age.

We encourage everyone to contact Quinn’s and let them know that their offering of foie gras is cruel and unnecessary, and it reflects badly on them their continued support of such an archaic product.

Several weeks ago, when NARN first began campaigning against Quinn’s Pub, Quinn’s owner Scott Staples told us that the foie gras he serves comes from Hudson Valley Foie Gras. In fact, he even said that he had personally visited the farm. But when confronted this week with a New York Times exposé about how Hudson Valley Foie Gras exploits its workers, Quinn’s story changed. Its sister restaurant, Zoe, also owned by Scott Staples even changed its website, which up until Sunday said that it served Hudson Valley Foie Gras. When there is a news story about the terrible conditions at Palmex, the supposed new supplier, will Quinn’s change its story again?

Scott Staples, owner and chef at Quinn’s Pub, has told us that he does not take issue with gavage, the cruel practice of force-feeding ducks to produce foie gras. If he has no compassion for animals, we hope that he will drop foie gras from his menu after reading the shocking exposé about how HudsonValley Foie Gras–Quinn’s foie gras source–mistreats its workers. According to a New York Times column, HudsonValley‘s workers are “gruesomely exploited,” forced to work long hours with no paid overtime, no paid vacation or sick days, and barely any time to sleep. Hudson Valley‘s owner, Izzy Yanay said of his workers, “This notion that they need to rest is completely futile. They don’t like to rest.” It is unsurprising that someone with no sympathy for his employees would have no compassion for animals either.

The U.S.’s other major foie gras producer, Sonoma Foie Gras–which Lark’s foie gras is sourced from–is in hot water as well. After several years of pretrial motions, a defamation trial against it is scheduled to begin next week. Sonoma will have to defend its false claim that animal rights activists staged the investigation at its California facility–which found horrid conditions–before a court of law. Best of luck to Bryan Pease, founder, director, and attorney of Animal Protection and Rescue League, in bringing Sonoma to justice!

In the meantime, there is still time to register for our foie gras demo competition. Please email Jenn at jenn[at]narn[dot[org] for more information or to register for the chance to win a pizza party at vegan pizzeria Pizza Pi!

The scene at Quinn’s Pub on Friday nights is vaguely reminiscent of a forlorn going-out-of-business sale. At 1001 E Pike St, foie gras appears to be on clearance. Not only does Quinn’s owner Scott Staples offer to donate 10% of foie gras sales on Fridays to charities to boost sales (the first four weeks’ worth of contributions were rejected), but now he is even attempting, rather unsuccessfully, to give it away. As free samples sit untouchedoutside the Pub’s door, Scott Staples’ desperation to sell the engorged livers of force-fed ducks is almost pitiable. Meanwhile, thriving protests continue at Lark, where NARN supporters educated diners about the cruel methods of foie gras production three times last week.

During last Friday’s weekly foie gras protest of Quinn’s in Capitol Hill, NARN returned a donation check from the owner of the pub, Scott Staples.

Quinn’s has displayed a banner advertising that 10% of foie gras sales will be donated to NARN (see picture below).

The NARN board of directors unanimously rejects any such donations. It would show neither consistency nor integrity for an animal rights organization to benefit from animal cruelty – especially by profiting from foie gras, a product we’re actively campaigning against.

After the check was returned to him, Mr. Staples replied that he would “never take [foie gras] off the menu”, but that he was “proud of [NARN]” for rejecting the donation. I’m sure he’s happy we won’t accept money for what he considers our “support”.

We will not be swayed. The demonstrations will continue, and perhaps one day this so-called “delicacy” will be a thing of the past in Seattle eateries.

Remember, if you want to help us stop restaurants from serving this inhumane dish, we need you to contact them and politely request that they remove it from the menu. While the protests keep pressure and attention on them, they will ultimately only listen to public pressure. So drop by, call, or send e-mail to Quinn’s and Lark and ask them to remove foie gras from their menu, and make a difference for the ducks.

We have added an additional restaurant to our protest schedule. We have requested several times to meet with the owners of Quinn’s Pub, and they have not returned our correspondence, so we will begin protesting their sale of foie gras as well. We will meet, as usual, at Lark, 926 12th Ave E on Capitol Hill at 7pm, and then migrate over to Quinn’s Pub, located at 1001 E Pike St at 8pm. We hope to see you there!

Foie Gras Campaign Update:
At Friday night’s protest, NARN’s president had a long conversation with one of the owners of Lark, which continues, despite receiving educational materials about the cruelty inherent in foie gras production, to serve the dish. She mentioned that she is tracking correspondence she receives about foie gras, and that Lark currently receives more pro- than anti-foie gras phone calls and emails. We know that this does not reflect public opinion generally, as a recent Zogby poll found that nearly 80 percent of likely voters in the U.S. believe that foie gras production should be outlawed.

Since Lark is taking the public’s reaction into account in continuing to serve foie gras, please contact Lark and let them know that you would like to see them remove it from their menu. Taking two minutes to do this will really make a difference for the ducks and geese who are force fed to create this cruel product.
Tel: (206) 323-5275
Email: info@LarkSeattle.com

If you can’t make the protest, please call or email Quinn’s and ask them to remove foie gras from their menu.
Tel: (206) 325-7711
Email: info@quinnspubseattle.com

In other foie gras news, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution last week supporting restaurants that removed foie gras from its menu. For more information about foie gras factory farming, please visit: gourmetcruelty.com and nofoiegras.com. Email volunteer@narn.org with any questions.

Calendar

January2019

NARN's board of directors meets monthly to discuss our campaigns and administrative issues. Guests are welcome to attend if we have enough time on our agenda.

If you wish to have an agenda item added to the NARN Board Meeting, please email info@narn.org at least a day in advance. You can also send us a message on Facebook anytime or even the day of the meeting and we'll get back to you. All NARN Board Meetings are held in Seattle.

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by our desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join us in providing free, educational information to the public about the dangers of supporting backyard breeding practices and puppy mills, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, the time and money it takes to responsibly care for a living creature, and the positive effects of screening pet owners through application processes.

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2093159060741059/

Come join us for a delicious brunch at the fabulous Celest Cafe AND write some letters for animals.

NARN provides the stationery, pens, stamps, sample letters, and ideas for what to write -- just bring yourself. You can even bring your laptop if you'd prefer to type or email your letters!

Why letter writing? Letter writing is a simple way to make change for the animals! At our letter writing events, we write for many different reasons: opposition to the creation of new animal laboratories, support for sending animals to sanctuary, promotion of vegan events and issues through letters to the media, and raising the spirits of activists and comrades who have been jailed for their pro-animal and political actions!

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 6pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/512061562622307/

The University of Washington's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will be meeting to discuss various research protocols (study designs). This is your chance to voice your opinion about the research on animals that goes on at the UW. Please come and speak for the animals!
The meetings are held at the South Campus Center; Room #342 (in between San Juan Road & Columbia Road); behind the Magnuson Health Sciences Center (1925 N.E. Pacific St) )
http://www.washington.edu/maps/

Unfortunately, they frequently re-schedule or cancel their meetings in an attempt to avoid the public, so please call the Public Affairs Office at 206-543-9180 to make sure the meeting is still happening at the given time.
You can also check out their calendar here (copy & paste link into your browser)
http://oaw.washington.edu/iacuc-meeting-schedule/

This month we will be checking out Travelers Thali House. They have tons of vegan options. See their menu here:
http://www.travelersthalihouse.com/Menu102014.html
The Social Discussion Group is a casual event. Drinkers and non-drinkers are welcome, and you don't have to be vegetarian to participate. We hope you'll join us! Questions? Contact rachel[at]narn[dot]org

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/406570843449273/

La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza will be offering a tasty Vegan Tamales Cooking Class in partnership with the Food Empowerment Project! Now is your chance to learn how to make vegan tamales from a master tamalera! The tamales are prepared in the handmade and traditional fashion using cultural ingredients. Sweet sangrias, beer and wine will also be served and is included in the ticket price.

Class will begin promptly at 10:00 AM in the kitchen at El Centro de la Raza. Classes typically take 2.5 to 3 hours long. All cooking supplies and ingredients will be provided, but please bring your own apron.

The money for the La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza Latin Cooking Classes go to fund El Centro de la Raza's Senior programs.

For updates on this event see
https://www.facebook.com/events/2404477662895760/